1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for preventing the growth of microorganisms in citrus fruits.
2. The Prior Art
Generally, fruits are liable to degradation and corruption by various fungi, particularly Penicillium digitatum or Geotrichum candidum, during transportation or storage thereof. Especially, imported citrus fruits, such as, lemons, oranges and grapefruits are sometimes corrupted by 30% or more or the total imported amount during the season of May through July, and the discarding treatment of corrupted fruits has recently become even a social problem.
Heretofore, in order to cope with such discarding, various antimicrobial agents have been developed and used to protect citrus fruits from microorganisms.
Meanwhile, in order to keep fruits fresh, a method has also been attempted of treating the fruits by preservatives supported on a porous material like activated charcoal or zeolite.
However, each of the above conventional treating methods have problems as well as advantages. Particularly, phytotoxicity caused on the fruits when a drug is used can not be disregarded, so that the usage of a chemical has to be restricted from the viewpoints of agricultural chemicals.